5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE

Is it okay for Christians to purchase lottery tickets?

Sincerely,
Pick Of The Litter

Dear Pick Of The Litter,

The Bible never specifically mentions the lottery as a sin, but it doesn’t have to be specifically mentioned to be wrong.  There are a great many things surrounding gambling that are sinful.  Consider that:

1. Gambling focuses around money and greed.  God warns us clearly about being fixated with money (1 Tim 6:10, Heb 13:5).  God wants us to be satisfied with our income (Eccl 5:10).  Contentment is a major component of spiritual maturity (1 Tim 6:6).
2. Gambling is used as a means to gain money without working for it.  God finds pleasure in people working for their livelihood (2 Thess 3:10-12, Pr 10:4).
3. Gambling wastes money because, ultimately, the house does always win.  God expects us to be good stewards (1 Cor 4:2) and save for the future (Pr 6:6-8).
4. Gambling and the places where gambling occurs are often associated with other sinful things.  There is a reason Las Vegas is called “Sin City”.  That industry is not one that a christian should be supporting (2 Cor 6:16-17).
5. Gambling is addictive.  We can only have one master (Lk 16:13).

5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE

Which laws of the Bible are still laws that we should go by?

Sincerely,
Legally Binding

Dear Legally Binding,

The laws and commandments of the Old Testament are no longer binding.  When Jesus died on the cross, He blotted out the ordinances of the Old Testament that condemned us (Col 2:14).  The New Testament has surpassed and replaced the Old Contract written on tablets of stone (2 Cor 3:3-8).  The Old Testament was designed to lead mankind to Christ, but now that Christ has come, we are no longer under the Old Covenant (Gal 3:24-25).

That does not mean that the Old Testament has no relevance.  The Old Testament is the history of God’s interaction with mankind over the centuries.  The laws and lives of those people are given to us as an example and a written lesson of how to live (1 Cor 10:11).  The prophets’ lives are examples of perseverance and suffering (Jas 5:10).  Israel is given to us as an example of disobedience (1 Cor 10:6-10).  Hebrews chapter eleven is an entire chapter devoted to the faithfulness of people who lived during the Old Testament times.  The Old Testament has immense depths of wisdom to be plumbed.

The Old Testament also provides the background to Jesus’ life.  Jesus was born a Jew, and He lived under the Jewish Old Testament law.  When we understand that law, we have a deeper understanding of Christ’s life.  The Old Testament also contains hundreds of prophecies about Jesus’ life.  Isa 53:1-7 is just one example of an Old Testament verse that gives details about Jesus’ life and sacrifice.

A couple of years back, I started working for a company that was directed by my mom's husband.  That's not my father; they divorced when I was younger.  My mom left my dad because of an affair with this other guy, and I grew up with my dad but spent plenty of holidays with mom and her husband.  Naturally, I got a little fond of them and their kids, but when I was older, I became aware of how it hurt my dad that I would want to spend time with them when I had the choice.  He never blamed me but told me a little about what he felt on occasion when the conversation covered certain things significantly related.  Anyway, now I've been working in the company for a while, and although I've had pressure to leave to honour my dad, I never left and instead asked other people what they thought.  They all said they didn't think it was dishonourable.  But recently, again, I've had the feeling that it was breaking one of God's commandments, and I heard the story of a Welsh revivalist (Evan Roberts, I think) whose messages were very simple, and one of the four points was to 'get rid of grey areas'. This is CERTAINLY a grey area for me, and I'm not at all sure whether I'm breaking the commandment or not, but, I feel that probably I am, so even if I am not sure about breaking the commandment or not, I AM SURE this is a grey area!  So... my question is, do you know of any Bible texts that can clarify how I can know if grey areas should really be addressed?  If you have any idea about the commandment and what you think is happening here, that would be great, too… I know my salvation is at stake here; please help.

Sincerely,
The Good Kid

Dear The Good Kid,

The Bible specifically addresses gray areas in Rom 14.  There are two major factors to consider in areas of opinion:

1. If what you are doing causes other christians to fall away or stumble, then you must stop (Rom 14:13) – this is not very applicable to your situation because nobody is going to fall away because you work for your stepfather.
2. It can't be something that bothers your conscience.  Rom 14:23 says "But he that doubts is condemned if he eats, because he eats not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin."  Working for your stepfather's company isn't a sin, and isn't necessarily dishonoring your biological father... but if you feel that it is wrong and inappropriate, you should quit.

Obviously, it is the second factor that is going to be the most difficult for you.  Anyone that tells you that working for your stepfather is doctrinally wrong is feeding you a line.  However, you must examine yourself and consider what you feel comfortable with.  Life is difficult because it is impossible to get rid of all gray areas.  It takes self-examination and wisdom to wade through those choices and discern between good and evil (Heb 5:14).